


Looking for love

by Emma_zora6



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ball, Fractured Fairy Tale, Happy ending (Mika's song), Harry is looking for a fiancée, Louis is Cinderella's cousin, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mild mention of blood, Minor Character Death, My First AO3 Post, Not A Happy Ending, One Shot, Prince Harry Styles, Short One Shot, Tags Contain Spoilers, love is love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:15:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27573670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emma_zora6/pseuds/Emma_zora6
Summary: AU where Harry organizes a ball in order to find his soulmate.Or the one where Cinderella lives with her three cousins, Elizabeth, Helena and Louis.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Kudos: 4





	Looking for love

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as an English assignment when I was 15. Since it was an assignment there were things that I had to write even if I didn't want to at first. For example the physical description of Cinderella is quite harsh, it does not mean that one is not good-looking if one has some of her features. I do not support the clichés of beauty that exist nowadays!
> 
> Also, let me know if I forgot to put some tags if you ever find something triggering.
> 
> Happy reading!!

Once upon a time, in a magnificent manor near London, an ugly and kind little girl called Lily lived with her evil aunt Susan. When she was six years old, her parents died of tuberculosis and she was sent to her dad's sister house. Susan had two daughters and one son. The two sisters, Elizabeth and Helena were respectively eight and nine years old when Lily came to live with them. They were very beautiful but they were as villainous as their mother: they thought that Lily was their maid and she had to do all the chores in the manor. At the end of the day she was exhausted and she sat down in front of the fireplace, near the cinders. This is the reason why everyone called Lily "Cinderella". Nonetheless, Louis, Susan's youngest child, was different: he was generous and helpful. He was handsome, he had brown straight hair and his eyes always seemed to shine of joy. He was smaller than his cousin. While Susan's back was turned he helped Cinderella to do the dishes and to hang out the washing. He and his cousin were the same age, he would have liked to be friend with her but she didn't know how to lip-read.

Cinderella lived in her bubble owing to her deafness. She was not good-looking: she had warts on her nose, her hair was greasy and tangled and she was tall (when she would be adult she would be almost as tall as a man). Furthermore, she was hunchbacked by dint of scrubbing the floor. In contrast to her body, she had splendid blue eyes like Louis. 

***********  
Twelve years later... 

One fine day Cinderella saw Elizabeth and Helena who were getting ready for a ball. Indeed, the handsome Prince Harry was looking for a fiancée. Cinderella did her cousin's hair, they were aglow. She mournfully thought that she would have gone with them but she was dressed in rags and didn't have shoes so she went in the garden and burst into tears. Suddenly, she saw a burst of light and a fairy appeared.  
"-Why are you crying?" she asked the sad girl.  
But Cinderella could not hear what the fairy had said. The fairy heard Elizabeth and Helena who were talking about the ball and she understood what was going on. With the wave of a magic wand she turned Cinderella into a gorgeous young woman. Even if she was tall, nobody could recognize her. Her long wavy hair was neat and she was wearing a tiara. She did not have make-up and she did not need it due to her smile and her eyes which were lighting up her face. Her hands were not dirty anymore and her nails were filed. She was wearing a yellow dress and ballet flats instead of high heels so that she would not be taller than her dance partner.  
The fairy took out one walnut, two ants and three locusts which were hidden in her hat. She used her magic wand again and turned the walnut into a carriage, the aunts became horses and the locusts were now a coach driver and two servants. Cinderella thanked the fairy in a hug. Due to Cinderella's deafness, the fairy explained to the coach driver that the young woman had to leave the ball before midnight, time when the magic would draw to a close. The man promised to pick up Cinderella in time. Cinderella, who was not used to getting in a carriage, did not bend over and she hit her head; then she quietly sat down. The night was falling and she looked at the landscapes she had only seen from the highest tower of the manor. 

*************  
One hour later, she arrived in front of the castle. The servants escorted her to the ballroom. Cinderella was admiring the huge room: there were many buffets, golden columns were shining and well-dressed people were dancing. Among the crowd she glimpsed her cousins who were dancing with a lovely boy, he was wearing a long red jacket with golden buttons. While she was gazing at him, the latter left Helena and Elizabeth and came closer to Cinderella. She made her nicest smile and they started to dance. Her dance partner had adorable dimples and his green eyes were sparkling. Hours went by and they were still dancing, staring at one another.

Midnight struck. 

Obviously, Cinderella did not hear the bells, neither the coach driver and the servants. They had drunk too much and they had fallen asleep in the garden. Suddenly, Cinderella's hair was greasy again and her tiara disappeared. The young man stepped back and before leaving her he said "It was nice to meet you, I'm Prince Harry and you?". 

Cinderella looked at the man's clothes and saw the golden buttons: it was HIM, she had danced with Prince Harry! She looked down and saw her hands which were dirty again! She immediately turned around and ran as fast as she could. Surprised, the prince did not try to catch her since she had been impolite with him. He was still looking for his soulmate because he had not fallen in love with Cinderella so he went to see other girls.

Meanwhile, Cinderella had fallen down the stairs. Her yellow dress had disappeared and her rags were covered of bloodstains. 

She picked herself up and wiped her eyes. She had lost one of her ballet flats but she did not turn around. She had to go away at all costs because she was ashamed and did not want anyone to see her. She walked with her twisted ankle somehow. Owing to her thirst she decided to walk through the woods towards a source. The forest was scary: owls were hooting, branches were splitting under her feet and leaves avoided the moonlight to light her path. Many times, she hurt herself in the brambles. She leaned against a tree after she had drunk. Her eyelids were heavy and she quickly fell asleep. 

**************** 

At the break of dawn, in the manor, Susan and her children were packing their bags. Elizabeth and Helena were offended because they had not seduced the prince, this was the reason why their mother decided to move in another kingdom where they would find good husbands.

Louis was just keeping up what was going on as nobody let him give his opinion. He was worried about Cinderella who was not there. 

In the castle, the prince woke up. He was tired because he had cried the entire night for not having fallen in love. He went to walk to take his mind off things. He was going down the stairs when he hit something with his foot. It was one of the ballet flats of the mysterious and ill-mannered girl he had danced with the evening before. Even if he did not love her, he would give it back to her out of chivalry. 

Harry did not know where she lived therefore he went to see her mother who knew everyone's address in the kingdom. She talked to him about a girl called Cinderella who lived with the wealthy Susan. She gave him the manor's address and advised him not to spend too much time with this girl of the lower society. A few minutes later, he was riding his white horse to the manor. 

In his bedroom, Louis was crying: his mother and his sisters had left the manor without him since he wanted to wait for Cinderella. Suddenly he stood up and wiped his eyes because he had heard the sound of hooves. He looked through the window and saw a rider who was going toward the manor. He went down the stairs and when he arrived behind the front door the prince knocked three times. 

********** 

As soon as Louis opened the door, the time seemed to stop. He had never met the prince before. Harry and Louis couldn't stop having their eyes riveted on each other and a blissful smile on their faces. They felt butterflies in their stomachs and their hearts beat faster. "Is it like this, love at first sight?" thought Louis who felt like a character of a mushy novel. Abruptly Harry snapped out of it and cleared his throat. All the magic disappeared immediately. Both of them became ill-at-ease and they looked at the floor. 

"-Hum... Good morning Sir, a certain girl called Cinderella lost one of her ballet flats yesterday. Would you please give it back to her? asked Harry. 

-Yes of course. Thank you very much my..." Louis did not have time to finish his sentence, the prince had already left. 

Harry was relieved to leave the manor, it was the first time that he felt something like that and he found it scary. It was also the first time someone looked at him this way. Unfortunately, the idea of falling in love with a man did not even cross his mind. 

In the manor Louis was crying one more time, the way Harry turned back broke his heart. He hummed "This is the way you left me, I'm not pretending, no hope, no love, no glory, no happy ending...".

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the song that Louis sings:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzoYgasvKdo 
> 
> 'Happy ending' by Mika


End file.
